What does
that have to do with myth and legend? Flying horses, of courses. In
legend, Pegasus is a gorgeous black horse with ebony wings. Feathered
wings. This has been the tried and true formula since Grecian myth.

PegasusIn Greek
mythology, Pegasus is the winged horse that was fathered by Poseidon*
with Medusa. When her head was cut off by the Greek hero Perseus, the
horse sprang forth from her pregnant body. Percy Jackson’s
father does get around. A lot.

I’ve
never been convinced that a winged horse would also have feathers. In
“Setara’s Genie” I introduce not one, but two! flying horses.

Hasib the
Sultan’s Horse

Setara
finds a talking, flying, fire-breathing horse named Hasib hiding in
her father’s stable. He’s trying to look casual, but Setara
notices that he’s whistling and hiding his head in the corner of
the stall. Highly suspicious behavior. When Setara approaches, an
eagle flies through the stable at head height scaring the horses,
including Hasib. He levitates a foot into the air and spits fire out
of his mouth, setting the hay on fire.

Setara
rushes to the rescue and beats out the flames. She and Hasib have a
little chat while he explains that he’s a cross-blood horse, mostly
horse, but just a wee touch of dragon blood. This means he can fly
(without wings) and breathe fire. However, he’s not very good at
either talent. Setara helps Hasib gain control over his magic.

Not exactly Nasreen, but a flying horse from 1001 Arabian Nights.

Nasreen the Non-Feathered Winged Flying MareWith the
dragon attacking the Sultan of Semidor’s palace, Setara and Basit
have got to get off that mountain fast. Basit gives wings to Setara’s
mare, Nasreen. But we all know that horses don’t have feathers, so
Nasreen’s beautiful wings are covered with the same lovely hair as
the rest of her body. The little mare takes to her new appliances
immediately, carrying Setara to the Sultan’s Palace to save Hasib.

There we
have it. Two flying horses, but not a one with
feathers.

EXCERPT

At the far end of the corridor, she saw
Hasib with his head stretched as far as he could through the stall
window.

“Here. I’m here!” Hasib slammed
his front hooves against his stall door. Basit was within reach of
the stall. “The groom locked me in and then ran off. I have to get
out. I’ve heard Azhi Dahaka is here, and he’s burning people!”

Not taking time to use magic, Basit
fumbled with the latch and swung the stall door open. Hasib stepped
out, immediately turned left and trotted down the long corridor to
the outside door. Basit, Setara, and Sheik kept pace with him.

“What will you do?” Basit asked.

“I’ll have to fight him, I’m
afraid. I’m the only one who can. The blood of Azhi Dahaka runs in
my veins.”

The four reached the door and stood
looking up at the awesome figure of the dragon demon spouting flame.
People ran screaming in all directions. The soldiers were having no
luck with their arrows. Trying to shoot straight up to Azhi’s perch
on the tower slowed the arrows too much to do any good. The barbs
bounced off the dragon’s tough scales with no effect.

Setara saw a crossbow lying on the
ground, probably discarded by an escaping soldier. She picked it up.
A few feet further on, she saw a quiver with bolts. She grabbed it,
too. “Let me on your back. I’ll go with you!”

Basit reached for her arm. “No! I
cannot allow you to come to harm.”

She twisted away and jumped on Hasib’s
back. “Let’s go, Hasib!”

The flying horse sprang into the air.
He needed no wings since he flew by magic. To Setara’s surprise,
Nasreen took flight beside Hasib. Setara admired the mare’s bravery
but wished she could tell her to go back.

Basit also took flight. Setara knew he
wouldn’t let her face Azhi’s flames alone. She hoped he knew some
spell to protect her and Hasib from the spouting fire. Glancing at
him, she saw the familiar look of concentration on his face when he
was making up a new spell.

As the two horses and the djinn soared
upward, some people stopped in their tracks to stare. Setara almost
laughed. As if a dragon demon perched on the palace tower wasn’t
enough, the sight of a winged horse, another flying horse with a girl
on his back, and a genie was more than they could stand. Those who
were not already running away from the tower decided now would be a
good time to do so.

The ground around the tower was
littered with fallen arrows and men. Some brave souls attempted to
save the wounded men. However, the flames were pouring down so fast
they had to weave and dodge to reach them.

She gripped Hasib’s mane with one
hand and worked to load a bolt and get the crossbow in position with
the other. It wasn’t working, so she let go of the mane, gripping
tight with her legs. She didn’t even think about looking down. Her
whole attention was focused on the roaring demon wrapped around the
tower. They flew directly into the path of its flames.

Hasib fought back with flames of his
own. However, he was much smaller than the dragon, and his flame was
not big enough to have any effect. Setara fired a bolt toward Azhi,
but it fell far short. “We’ll have to get closer!” she yelled
over the roaring of the dragon. Hasib spiraled upward, taking a path
around the tower. Azhi twisted his body to face the flying horses,
the clearest threat to him.

Setara managed to reload the crossbow
and turned the winch to draw back the bolt. She held the crossbow up,
aiming along its shaft. The dragon demon’s head reared up directly
in front of her. She fired. The bolt shot through the air, hitting
the dragon’s head. It seemed to stick for a moment, then fell off.
Setara groaned. She didn’t think she’d get another chance.

“My blood!” Azhi Dahaka cried out.
Setara looked to see if the bolt had done some damage, but she
couldn’t see even a scratch on the dragon’s shining scales. Of
course, while Hasib circled and soared, getting a close look wasn’t
easy.

She saw Nasreen turn in mid-air and
begin to circle the tower in the opposite direction from Hasib.

“Good girl!” Setara called out. The
mare was exposing herself to distract the dragon’s attention away
from her and Hasib. The dragon twisted toward the mare and drew his
head back to spray flames at Nasreen.

With the dragon’s attention
elsewhere, Setara loaded another bolt into the crossbow and pulled it
back. Hasib drew his legs up and shot toward the dragon. As he
brought her next to the dragon’s side, Setara loosed the bolt. It
bounced off his scales to no effect.

Azhi Dahaka’s snake-like head whipped
around toward Hasib. His eyes widened as Hasib halted in mid-air
right in front of the dragon’s nose.

**** and then what happened? Read the book to find out.

The Tales of Abu Nuwas - SETARA'S GENIE A girl, a genie, a few demons. What could go wrong?

Abu Nuwas sits in the bazaar telling stories to the passersby he can tempt to pay. He relates the adventures of the bored daughter of a rich merchant, Setara, and her genie, Basit, as they encounter the creatures of legend and folklore: a lonely cave demon seeking a home; a flying, fire-breathing horse who has lost his mate; a dragon searching for his family; an evil genie hunting for the man who bottled him; and a merboy prince cast out of his undersea kingdom.